A PYMNTS Company

Germany: Vice Chancellor worried about Google’s power

 |  June 1, 2015

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday he was worried the market power of firms like Google was hurting competition on the Internet.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    Gabriel, who is also economy minister, has repeatedly voiced concern about the dominance of U.S. software companies and last year suggested firms like Google should be broken up if they abuse dominant market positions.

    “How can it be that in order to have Google’s (mobile operating system) Android you need to pre-install Google Search, Google Browser, Google Mail, Google You-Tube and its app store on the device?” Gabriel said at an event in Berlin.

    He welcomed a decision by the European Commission in April to launch an antitrust investigation into Google’s Android system over concerns anticompetitive constraints imposed by the company were hampering markets.

    Gabriel said agreements needed to be reviewed to ensure that customers were not being barred from using competing browsers and web services and locked into “Google Internet”.

    Full content: The Economic Times

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.